READ: Gal. 3:1–5: … Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth? … if indeed it was in vain? …
Paul is not just trying to defend himself against false accusations regarding his preaching of the gospel. He is also deeply concerned about the salvation of the church members in the congregations. That salvation is at risk due to the false teaching of legalism and righteousness by one’s own works!
It’s no longer the grace of Christ in His surrender for sinners that stands at the center, but man and his works of the law in an attempt to earn salvation. How can the church be so foolish as to trade the gospel he preached for a man-made doctrine?
Through his preaching, they received a clear image of the crucified Christ, described so vividly as if He had been crucified among them! Surely, they understood then that only His death on the cross could bring them salvation, and that it is only through faith in the Crucified that it becomes theirs?
Paul sharpens the point: who has bewitched you? What demon has taken hold of you?
He points to the root issue: The Holy Spirit caused them to be born again without any personal merit. But how did they receive the Spirit at that time? By works of the law or by hearing the Word? It was by hearing the Word, wasn’t it?
How can they now exchange the Spirit—by whom they are united with Christ by grace—for their own works of the law? They would then lose fellowship with Christ. They would end up in the flesh, because then it would all revolve around fleshly things like circumcision and dietary laws, which are of no benefit.
The Galatians, after joyfully receiving the gospel of grace, have experienced suffering—just like the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 1:6). Their faith was tested, but through the power of the Spirit they were able to endure. God did so based on faith in the heard Word, right?
And wasn’t Abraham also accepted by God as righteous solely because of his faith in God’s promise—without circumcision (Gen. 12:3; 15:6; Rom. 4:1–10)?
What place does the law have in your life?
Sing: Ps. 119:53